This invention relates to a polish formulation, and more particularly to a polish formulation containing micronized wax particles, which provide the polish formulation with improved rub out characteristics and ease of application.
Polishes are used to produce a glossy finish on a surface as well as to prolong the useful life of the surface. The gloss provided by the polish is the result of components in the polish which leave a coating and that function to smooth and clean the surface. Floor polish, furniture polish, and shoe polish, rely upon a deposited film. Car and boat polish formulations result in a glossy and protective film and may contain abrasives for removing weathered paint and soil as well as old built-up polish. Metal polish contains ingredients for abrasive smoothing of the surface being treated and for surface cleaning, as well as components that function to remove and retard the build-up of tarnish.
Motor vehicle polish is formulated in order to remove road film and oxidized paint, and to provide a continuous glossy film which resists water and its removal by water and car wash detergents. Such vehicle polishes contain several major functional ingredients including an abrasive. The abrasive, however, must be mild enough to avoid scratching of the painted surface, and representative of such mild acting materials are, for example, fine grades of aluminum silicate, diatomaceous earth, and various silicas. Straight and branched chain aliphatic hydrocarbons are employed to facilitate the detergency of the polish against oil based traffic soils and debris, and provide the solvency characteristics necessary in the production of a stable formulation. These hydrocarbons also control the drying rate of the formulation. Wax constitutes another polish ingredient and is one of the two film forming materials in the polish. The wax is spread and leveled and produces a high luster following buffing of the surface. Blends of soft and hard wax are often employed in order to facilitate ease of buffing and the durability of the polish against environmental antagonists. Exemplary waxes are paraffin wax, microcrystalline petroleum wax, carnauba wax, candelilla vegetable wax, montan coal derived wax, and synthetic polymeric waxes such as oxidized polyethylene.
Silicone materials are included in polishes as the other film forming ingredient. Such silicone materials also function as lubricants for easing the application of the polish as well as its buffing, and act as release agents for dried abrasive. The silicone materials spread easily and provide a uniform high gloss and with it water repellency. Such materials typically are dimethylsilicones, however, aminofunctional silicone products are becoming more prevalent. The aminofunctional products result in films having increased resistance to removal from the surface by detergents and the environment believed to be the result of their ability to plate out on a painted surface and to crosslink and bond to that surface.
A car polish may also contain an emulsifier, a thickener, and a stabilizer, for the production of a homogeneous stable product of desired consistency. Such polishes may be solid in form, semisolid, presoftened, or liquid. The polish, for example, can be solvent based or an emulsion, and in either case is a liquid, semi-solid, or solid in constitution. Typically, liquid emulsions include five to twenty weight percent of an abrasive, ten to thirty-five weight percent of solvent, two to fifteen weight percent of a silicone material, and up to about five weight percent wax. In an emulsion paste formulation, the wax ingredient is increased in level from three to twenty-five weight percent.
Polish formulations containing organosilicon compounds are not new. For example, aminofunctional siloxanes have been employed in polish formulations in U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,933, issued Apr. 28, 1970. Such siloxanes can also be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,779, issued Apr. 27, 1971, where water in oil and oil in water emulsion polishes are formulated. These aminofunctional silicones are also disclosed as ingredients in various polish formulations in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,371, issued Sept. 17, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,250, issued Aug. 19, 1980. Similarly, micronized waxes are not new and such wax particles can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,887, issued July 11, 1989. However, the prior art does not teach the use of micronized wax particles in polish formulations. For purposes of the present invention, the disclosure of the '887 patent is considered incorporated herein by reference.